Friday, May 23, 2008

The truth about the Davis Double

It's time for the truth about the Davis Double:
It wasn't that bad.
There was no rain, and most importantly the wind wasn't a major factor.

The first 98 miles are so aren't bad at all. I'm not a climber, but even for me Cardiac Hill wasn't hard. It's just a hill.
Cobb Mountain was a killer. I hurt on that, and the heat and sun didn't help. The fact that there was more climbing after the rest stop was demoralizing.

Though it seemed to last forever, it really didn't. And the downhill that followed was long enough that I felt recovered by the end.
The ride up to Resurrection Hill was a grunt, and the no-shoulder part was worrisome, but after that things got a lot better. There was a steep downhill on a good road that was fun.

Then, coming along the creek, even though there was a hot headwind, it was a long downhill. I didn't speed, but I didn't feel like I needed to work that hard either.
The ride after the Casino was no fun, what with the minimal shoulder and so many cars, but after that we had a very slight downhill and best of all, near the end, a huge tailwind to push us home.

So many things might have been worse. Too cold, rain, a nasty headwind, or a nasty headwind and uphill.
But it was merely way too hot. The organizers provided ice socks (greatest invention since the bicycle itself) and lots of water (and a large dose of moral support) that got us through.

One more climb and I wouldn't have made it, but as it was, ending with 60 miles of at least slightly downhill made this ride survivable, even for me.

Or maybe I've just forgotten the hard parts. Tricia says that's why women have more than one baby; that humans are built to forget pain.

Bonus: Flickr slideshow with too many photos of Pete

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